Stickhandling is a important hockey skill in the game of ice hockey. Players must develop good puck handling skills in order give and receive passes, shoot, and maintain possession of the puck. Puck handling is the #1 skill to work on away from the ice. With only one puck available during games it is hard for players to spend time handling the puck. Here are some tips in order to improve overall stickhandling skills and confidence with the puck.

10 Basic Hockey Stickhandling Tips

Cup The Puck. Roll your wrist over and under when stickhandling the puck to develop smooth soft hands. The puck should move from your forehand to backhand with little sound and try to avoid erratic slapping when stickhandling. If you're looking for a great stickhandling puck try our green biscuit. (Free Shipping) Try the following drills to work on cupping the puck -

Practice Variation Puck Handling. Always practice handling the puck in many different positions and not just directly in front of your body. Stickhandling the puck in all positions from your forehand to your backhand sides of your body is a great way to increase your range of motion while carrying the puck on the ice.

Keep Your Head Up. Concentrate on keeping your head and eyes up as much as possible when practicing stickhandling. Stickhandling with your head up allows you to make plays with the puck and avoid getting knocked off the puck or even injured.

Practice Off The Ice. Stickhandling skills can be greatly improved off the ice in driveways and garages. Devoting extra time at home each day can really improve a player’s stickhandling abilities. The Swedish Stickhandling Balls are great off-ice training tool that can increase your stickhandling speed and quickness.

Develop Strong Wrists. Developing strong wrists, hands, and forearm muscles is important in order to become a good stickhandler. A great product to increase stickhandling strength is the steel ball or hockey stick weight. Try weighted wrist rolls to gain strength -

Keep Hands Out From Body. Concentrate on moving your hands out away from you body. This allows your hands to move freely and increases your stickhandling reach and range of motion. Use hockey cones as markers to help increase your stickhandling length and range.

Use Training Obstacles. Practice your stickhandling skills through and around training obstacles to simulate a real game. It can be very beneficial when effort and time is put into it. There are many great training aids on the market such as the Attack Triangle.

Incorporate Training Games. Using and developing games is a fun way to improve your stickhandling skills.

Practice Stationary And Moving. Make sure to practice your stickhandling skills while stationary and moving. A good stationary stickhandling aid is the sweethands stickhandling aid to work on stickhandling skills while in motion.

Develop Quick Hands. Hockey is a fast paced game and you need to have quick hands in order to succeed at a high level. You should always push yourself to stickhandle beyond your comfort zone in order to develop faster hands. One of our Stickhandling Packages would help increase your skills in no time.